Philippe of Belgium
| Philippe / Filip | |||||
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| King of the Belgians | |||||
| Reign | 21 July 2013 – present | ||||
| Predecessor | Albert II | ||||
| Heir apparent | Elisabeth | ||||
| Prime Ministers |
See list
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| Born | 15 April 1960 Brussels, Belgium |
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| Spouse | Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (m. 1999) | ||||
| Issue Detail |
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Prince Gabriel Prince Emmanuel Princess Eléonore |
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| House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
| Father | Albert II of Belgium | ||||
| Mother | Paola Ruffo di Calabria | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
Philippe or Filip[1] (French: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie, Dutch: Filip(s) Leopold Lodewijk Maria, German: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria, English: Philip Leopold Louis Maria; born 15 April 1960) is the King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013. He is the eldest child of King Albert II, whom he succeeded upon Albert's abdication for health reasons, and Queen Paola. He married Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (now Queen Mathilde), with whom he has four children. King Philippe's elder daughter, Princess Elisabeth, is next in the line of succession. At age 55, Philippe is Europe's third-youngest reigning monarch, following the 48-year-old Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and the 47-year-old Felipe VI of Spain.
Contents
Early life
His godparents were his paternal grandfather, King Leopold III, and his maternal grandmother Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria.
Education
From 1978 to 1981, Philippe was educated at the Belgian Royal Military Academy in the 118th "Promotion Toutes Armes". On 26 September 1980, he was appointed second lieutenant and took the officer's oath.[2]
He continued his education at Trinity College, Oxford and he attended graduate school at Stanford University, California, where he graduated in 1985 with an MA degree in political science.[2]
He obtained his fighter pilot's wings and his certificates as a parachutist and a commando. In 1989, he attended a series of special sessions at the Royal Higher Defence Institute. The same year, he was promoted to Colonel. On 25 March 2001, the Prince was appointed to the rank of Major-General in the Land Component and the Air Component and to the rank of Rear-Admiral in the Naval Component.[2]
Marriage
Philippe married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, daughter of a Walloon Count of Belgian noble family and female line descendant of Polish noble families such as the Princes Sapieha and Counts Komorowski, on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, in a civil ceremony at the Brussels Town Hall and a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint Michel in Brussels. They have four children:
- Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène, Duchess of Brabant, born 25 October 2001
- Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie, born 20 August 2003
- Prince Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie, born 4 October 2005
- Princess Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie, born 16 April 2008
Foreign trade
On 6 August 1993, the government named Prince Philippe as Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB). He succeeded his father, who had been Honorary Chairman of the BFTB since 1962. On 3 May 2003, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary chairman of the board of the Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB.[3]
In this capacity, Prince Philippe has headed more than 60 economic missions.[4][5] Upon his accession as seventh King of the Belgians, this role was taken over by his sister Princess Astrid.
Accession
King Albert II announced on 3 July 2013 that he would abdicate in favour of Philippe on 21 July 2013.[6] Approximately one hour after King Albert II's abdication, Prince Philippe was sworn in as King of the Belgians.[7]
Military ranks
- 26 September 1980 – 21 March 1983:
- January – end March 1983: Platoon leader, 15th Comp., 3rd Parachutists Battalion of the Paracommando Regt[8][9]
- 21 March 1983 – 1 December 1989:
- 1 December 1989 – 5 April 2001:
- 5 April 2001 – 25 March 2010:
Belgian Air Component (Belgian Air Force before 2002), General-major[12]
Belgian Land Component (Belgian Army before 2002), General-major
Belgian Marine Component (Naval Force before 2002), Divisional admiral
- Since 15 March 2010:[9]
- Since 21 July 2013 (Oath as King):
 _-_Promotion_toutes_armes.svg){kind=small} |
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| Royal Military Acad.[13] | Pilot Wings[13] | Parachutist badge[12] | Commando badge[13][14] |
| 123rd TAW (1978–1981) | 9 July 1982 | 28 October 1982 | 17 December 1982 |
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| 1980 | 1983 | 1989 | 2001 | 2010 | 2013 |
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Titles, styles, and honours
| Royal styles of Philippe of Belgium |
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| Reference style | His Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sire |
- 15 April 1960 – 9 August 1993: His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium
- 9 August 1993 – 21 July 2013: His Royal Highness The Duke of Brabant
- 21 July 2013 – present: His Majesty The King of the Belgians
Honours
See also: List of state visits & List of honours of the Belgian Royal Family by country
King Philippe has received numerous honours throughout his life:[15]
Belgian honours
On his 30th birthday, he was awarded, by his uncle, King Baudouin of the Belgians, the highest Belgian honour:
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (15 April 1990)
From his accession to the throne, he is the following:
- Grand Master of the Order of Leopold
- Grand Master of the Order of the African Star (dormant order)
- Grand Master of the Royal Order of the Lion (dormant order)
- Grand Master of the Order of the Crown
- Grand Master of the Order of Leopold II
Foreign honours
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
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Ancestors
See also
References
- ↑ In languages of Belgium, the pronunciations are in French ([fiˈlip]) and Dutch ([ˈfilɪp]).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Official biography
- ↑ Official portrait
- ↑ Agence pour le Commerce extérieur, Missions antérieures
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Official 3Para page (French) evoking Prince Philippe
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Prince Philippe promoted, portrait
- ↑ Photo of Philippe as a Captain (3 stars) in the 3Para Battalion
- ↑ Prince Philippe gets married in his uniform of Colonel of the Belgian Air Force
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Photo of Prince Philippe as a General-major showing his parachutist badge
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 21 July 2012, photo showing the commando badge, the blue wing of the parachutist badge under the ribbon of the Order of Leopold, the pilot wing, the omega sign of Royal Academy "Promotion toutes armes"
- ↑ Photo showing the commando badge
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ PPE Agency, King Willem-Alexander's inthronization 2013, Photo
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Belgium of HM Queen Beatrix of Netherlands (20–22 June 2006), Philippe in this group photo
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Senate, biography of senators including Prince Philippe, senator by right
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Japan, 1996, Sovereign couples & Prince Philippe
- ↑ Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Belgian Lieutenancy's Official website, article evoking the decoration
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Belgium of HE Mr Jorge SAMPAIO, President of the Portuguese Republic & Mrs SAMPAIO (18–20 October 2005, Photo of Prnce Philippe
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit of President Herzog in Belgium (1998), Group Photo
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Belgium of TT.RR.AA Grand-Duke Henri & Grand-Duchess Maria-Teresa of Luxembourg. (20–22 March 2007), Philippe & Mathilde
- ↑ BOE: nom. 115, pg. 17721. [1] Real Decreto 775/2000. 13 May 2000.
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Belgium of TT.MM. King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain (16–18 May 2000), Group photo
- ↑ Prince Felipe's wedding – Belga Pictures, Philippe wearing the order
- ↑ Belga Pictures, Princess Victoria of Sweden's wedding, 2010, Philippe & Mathilde
- ↑ Zimbio, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark & Mary Donaldson's wedding, 14 May 2004, Photo of Philippe and Mathilde
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit in Belgium of TTMM. King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway (20–22 May 2003), Philippe is behind in this group photo
- ↑ King Harald's 70th birthday party, 2007, Group photo of Heirs & their consort
- ↑ Belga Pictures, State visit of H.E. President Mrs Tarja Halonen of Finland & Dr Pentti Arajärvi (30/03-01/04/2004), Gala dinner, Philippe & Mathilde
- ↑ Official Belgian royal website, State visit in Belgium of H.E. Mr Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland & Mrs Jolanta Kwasniewska, Gala dinner, group photo
- ↑ Official Royal Website, State visit in Belgium of H.E. Mr Laszlo SÓLYOM, President of the Republic of Hungary. (15–17 April 2008, Group photo
- ↑ Belga Pictures, Philippe
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Philippe of Belgium |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philippe of Belgium. |
- Official biography from the Belgian Royal Family website
- DHnet Article (French) about Prince Philippe's education and military career.
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Philippe of Belgium
Born: 15 April 1960 |
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| Belgian royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Baudouin |
Duke of Brabant 1993–2013 |
Succeeded by Elisabeth |
| Regnal titles | ||
| Preceded by | King of the Belgians 2013–present |
Incumbent Heir apparent: Elisabeth |
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